On October the 14th, I attended the concert. The performance was expected from the NDR Symphony Orchestra that belonged to Hamburg. The performance was carried out at the New Jersey Performing Arts Centre. There were two pieces on which performance comprised only which was a surprise as people were expecting lot more performances. In the end, though, the whole experience was worth it as it was a great musical journey to be a part. The first piece came from the Violin Concerto, and it was predominantly carried out in D Major. The performance was carried out by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky who is a renowned musician. The performance had many movements. The starting movement was Allegro Moderato. It started with the orchestra playing the crescendo. Then came the main soloist. The soloist was the one who presented the major themes in the concert. The texture of the performance varied from the monophony to the solo violin theme as well as the homophony was audible to the whole hall. The introduction of the music was then carried out with the inception of the violin. There were several other instruments as well and it created a good contrast when it comes to the overall tempo and theme of the concert. As the violin made its way back into the performance, there were other instruments as well that joined the whole piece. The high point of the performance was the movement that was carried out initially when the strong violin produced quite a high pitch that went well with the pianissimo and then it eventually slowed down to the static pace. It was a good show with regards to the way the ability of the instrument was being shown. The movement then ended with the entire orchestra playing the fortissimo that played with a strong beat.
The next movement of the Concerto began with the legato melody along with the woodwinds that were eventually punctuated with one note that came from the horns. The overall movement remained somber during the whole period with the excitement incited by the orchestra playing at an overall active pace. The violin then actually played with the descending scales that were carried out with the pizzicato notes. The melody then became the legato solo. That was commenced with eh oboe and then eventually passed on the some of the other basses. The role then returned along with the violin, as it started with the Adagio as well as making sure that there is an increase in the pace of the entire orchestra. The finale occurred with the two accelerating crescendos that were altering between the two retardant decrescendos.
The other major aspect with regards to the performance was how the Gustan Mehler Symphony played in the D Major. Another high point of the show was how the “High Point” was being performed in the given period. It was much longer in duration as compared to the first piece. It showed uniqueness in the sense that it was able to incorporate everyday sounds such as the bulge calls as well as bird songs and even dance tunes. Due to that, there was a wide variety of tone colors were incorporated in the whole period. The symphony began with the thick texture that undertones the strings along with the couple of notes that were denoted by the hunting call in the woodwinds.
It was one of the key things that persisted during the whole piece. The other thing that was noted was how the bright fanfare fared along with the trumpets. It was followed by the light descending with the melody being played in the entire orchestra. After this movement, all the instruments started to play the strong beat known as fortissimo. Due to the introduction of the fortissimo, there was a gradual increase in the tension that eventually leads to the muted trumpet solo. The strings then dominated the remainder of the movement, as there was a strong legato melody that was passed from the cellos to the violins and then eventually it was passed to the basses.
The classification of third movement was classified by the strong drum movement as well as the way the orchestra moved with the clear duple meter. Their presence became less crucial with the passage of time due to the way retardant which was then brought back to the light melody into the woodwinds. During this movement, the initiative polyphony was the texture that was dominant as the melody created the woodwinds that were echoed by some of the other instruments. The portion was characterized by the dark and somber tone as it brought towards the opening movement. The only problem with this act was how the drums that were heard earlier left a beat that was rather weak and the meter was also suppressed due to that. The finale then began with the parts of the opening movement as it moved to the brass fanfare and the cymbal crashes that were brought to the multiple crescendos. Due to the way this movement was carried out, there was a feeling that the orchestra was nearing the last note, but the whole process was started again. The true ending did come eventually with the crescendo. Through the experience, I was able to comprehend the talents of the NDR Symphony of Hamburg.
Works Cited
Bonds, Mark Evan. Music as Thought: Listening to the Symphony in the Age of Beethoven. Princeton University Press, 2009.
